Cleaning device for a hair removing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cleaning device has a basin that receives an operator head of the hair removing apparatus, a tank storing a volume of a cleaning liquid, and a pump supplying the liquid from the tank to the basin for cleaning the operator head. A drip pan is formed separately from the tank and is disposed underneath the basin for collecting the liquid dripping from the basin as well as contaminants dislodged from the operator head. The drip pan is connected to the tank so as to return the liquid from within the drip pan to the tank under the action of the pump. A filter is provided in the drip pan for removing the contaminants from the liquid so that the filter can be cleaned or replaced without involving the tank and the liquid contained therein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a cleaning device for a hairremoving apparatus, particularly a dry shaver with the use of a cleaningliquid.

BACKGROUND ART

U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,890 shows a cleaning device for a dry shaver. Thedevice is formed with a basin for accommodating therein a shaver head ofthe shaver, and a tank containing a volume of a cleaning liquid andcommunicating with the basin through a liquid supply channel. A pump isdisposed in the liquid supply channel in order to supply the liquid fromthe tank into the basin for cleaning the shaver head, i.e., cutters andthe associated parts. The tank is disposed immediately below the basinfor collecting the liquid from the basin by gravity feed. A filter isfixed within the tank in order to separate contaminants or hairsdislodged from the head and carried by the circulating liquid forpreventing the contaminants from entering the pump. When the filter isclogged, it has to be discarded together with the tank and therefore alarge volume of the liquid contained in the tank.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,328 suggests another cleaning device in which a drippan is disposed immediately below the basin to receive the liquiddripped from the basin. The liquid is fed back to a separate tankholding a large volume of the tank. A pump is included to circulate theliquid through the tank, the basin and the drip pan. Also in thisdevice, the filter is fixed within the tank so as to supply the cleanliquid from the tank into the basin. However, since the filter is fixedto tank, the filter cannot be cleaned or replaced without discarding thetank, i.e., the large volume of the liquid contained in the tank. Thisis inconvenience and even uneconomical in that the liquid cannot bereused.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above problemand provides an improved cleaning device for a hair removing apparatus.The cleaning device includes a housing provided with a basin thatreceives an operator head of the hair removing apparatus, a tank storinga volume of a cleaning liquid, and a pump supplying the liquid from thetank to the basin for cleaning the operator head. A drip pan is formedseparately from the tank and is disposed underneath the basin forcollecting the liquid dripping from the basin. The drip pan is connectedto the tank by way of a fluid intake channel for allowing the liquid toreturn from within the drip pan to the tank under the action of thepump. The drip pan is open to the bottom of the basin for collecting thehairs or contaminants dislodged from the operator head. The feature ofthe present invention resides in that a filter is provided in the drippan for removing the contaminants from the liquid. Thus, the filter canbe cleaned or replaced without involving the tank and the liquidcontained therein, enabling a continued use of the tank and the cleaningliquid and therefore assuring economical cleaning of the apparatus.

In a preferred embodiment, the drip pan is separated by the filter intoa first chamber which is in direct communication with the basin and asecond chamber having a connection port for direct connection with thefluid intake channel. The connection port is designed to have a flowcross area smaller than the surface area of the filter so as to smoothlypass the liquid through the filter without rapidly clogging the filter.

The second chamber is preferred to communicate with an air vent that isformed in the housing and is open to the atmosphere not through thefilter for introducing the air. The tank is provided in the form of ahermetically sealed container which is selectively open to theatmosphere by way of an air valve. The device includes a controller thatselectively provides a supply mode for supplying the liquid to the basinfrom the tank and a recovery mode for recovering the liquid from thebasin to the tank. In the supply mode, the pump is actuated while theair valve is kept closed so as to feed the air introduced through theair vent and the second chamber into to the tank by way of the fluidintake channel and therefore accumulate the air pressure within thetank, thereby forcing the liquid out of the tank to the basin. In therecovery mode, the pump is actuated while the air valve is kept openedso as to feed the liquid out from the basin through the fluid intakechannel to the tank without accumulating the air pressure within thetank, thereby collecting the liquid into the tank. With the provision ofthe recovery mode, the liquid can be completely recovered into the tankto empty the drip pan, thereby facilitating the cleaning or replacementof the filter.

Most preferably, the drip pan is removably received within a recessformed in the housing below the basin so that the drip pan and thefilter can be easily washed or cleaned for continued use.

The filter may be designed to have an upper area and a lower area sothat the upper area is positioned above a level of the liquid drippedand stored into the drip pan for introducing the air through the upperarea into the second chamber. Thus, the outside air can be successfullydrawn by the pump not through the liquid phase into the tank, while thefilter can entrap hairs or contaminants possibly carried by the air.

The second chamber of the drip pan may have an inner bottom which isinclined downwardly to the connection port for facilitating the liquidflow to the tank, particularly in the recovery mode, for completecollection of the liquid into the tank.

Preferably, the drip pan is configured to have a liquid storing capacitylarger than that of the basin. Thus, even if the pump stops during thesupply mode, the drip can collect the whole volume of the liquid fromthe basin without causing any leakage around the drip pan.

The device may include a monitor that monitors whether or not the drippan is attached to the housing so that the controller deactivates thepump in response to the drip pan being detached from the housing,assuring safe operation of the device.

Instead of providing the removable drip pan, the filter itself may bemade removable from the housing to be easily cleaned. Also in this case,the controller may be arranged to deactivate the pump in response to thefilter being detached from the housing.

These and still other advantageous features of the present inventionwill become more apparent from the following detailed description of theembodiment when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning system shaver in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the operation of the abovesystem;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the system in a rather schematicrepresentation;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a dry shaver of the above system;

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram of the above device illustrating theoperation of the above system;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the above system with the dryshaver being removed therefrom;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are vertical sections of the above system, respectivelywith and without the shaver;

FIG. 9 is another vertical section of the above system;

FIG. 10 is a rear vertical section of the above system;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the above system;

FIG. 12 is a vertical section of a detachable tank utilized in the abovesystem;

FIG. 13 is a top view of a drip pan utilized in the above system;

FIG. 14 is a vertical section of the drip pan;

FIG. 15 is a partial section showing a bottom of the drip pan and theassociated portion of the device's housing; and

FIG. 16 is a vertical section of a modified drip pan.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a cleaning device forcleaning a hair removing apparatus, for example, a dry shaver 10 orepilator with the use of a cleaning liquid. The device has a housing 20with a base 30 and a stand 40 upstanding from a rear end of the base.Formed at the front end of the base 30 is a basin 50 which is configuredto receive an operator head, i.e., a shaver head 12 of the shaver 10.The cleaning liquid is stored in a tank 100 detachably mounted to thestand 40 and is connected to the basin 50 for supplying the liquid intothe basin and for recovering the liquid therefrom. The device includes apump 70 which is controlled to circulate the cleaning liquid between thetank 100 and the basin 50 for cleaning the shaver head 12. The cleaningoperation continues for a predetermined period. Thereafter, a control ismade to collect the liquid from the basin 50 into the tank 100, detailsof which will be discussed later. Upon recovery of the liquid into thetank, a fan 200 is actuated to produce a forced air flow over the head12 for drying the same.

As shown in FIG. 2, a drip pan 60 is disposed immediately below thebasin 50 for collecting the liquid dripping and/or overflowing from thebasin 50. The drip pan 60 has a top opening which communicates with adrain port 52 at the bottom center of the basin 50, and also with anoverflow duct 34 leading to an upper edge of the basin 50. The drip pan60 has a filter 63 for entrapping hairs or contaminants dislodged fromthe shaver head 12 and carried by the liquid dribbling through the drainport 52 into the drip pan 60. The liquid thus cleared of thecontaminants is fed through a connection port 65 to a fluid intakechannel 22 leading to the tank 100. The pump 70 is disposed in the fluidintake channel 22 for drawing the liquid from the basin 50. The fluidintake channel 22 is open to the atmosphere through the drain port 52,the overflow duct 34, and also through an air vent 36 formed in the base30 around the basin 50. Thus, depending upon the level of the liquid inthe basin 50, the outside air is drawn alone or together with the liquidby the action of the pump 70 into the tank 100 through the fluid intakechannel 22. The tank 100 is provided in the form of a hermeticallysealed container having an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is defined bya fluid inlet tube 102 which is detachably connected to the fluid intakechannel 22 for taking in the liquid and/or the air. The outlet isdefined by a liquid outlet tube 104 which is detachably connected to aliquid supply channel 24 formed in the housing 20 and leading to a spout25 upwardly of the basin 50, as best shown in FIG. 9, for flowing theliquid down into the basin 50. Turning back to FIG. 2, the liquid outlettube 104 is connected to a U-shaped sucking tube 105 which extends deepinto the tank 100 to a point adjacent to the bottom of the tank forsucking the liquid. Further, the tank 100 is formed with an air exhausttube 106 detachably connected to an air exhaust channel 26 which extendswithin the housing 20 and is open to the atmosphere through ventilationwindows 29 or clearances in the walls of the housing 20. An air valve 80is disposed in the air exhaust channel 26 to selectively close the tankand open it to the atmosphere. The air valve 80 is realized by anormally-closed electromagnetic valve which opens upon being energizedor supplied with an electric current. A cap 112 is detachably andsealingly mounted in a filling port 110 in the upper end of the tank 100for replacing or replenishing the liquid.

Now, the operation of the device is discussed with reference to FIGS. 2and 5. The device includes a power supply 90 providing an electric powerto various electrical parts, and a controller 92 responsible forcontrolled operations of the associated parts. When a switch 94 isactivated, the controller 92 responds to provide a supply mode and arecovery mode in sequence. In the supply mode, the pump 70 is activatedwith the air valve 80 being kept closed, i.e., the tank being kepthermetically sealed. Initially, the basin 50 is substantially free fromthe liquid such that only the air is drawn and accumulated in the tank100 to increase the inside air pressure. As the air pressure increases,the liquid in the tank 100 is forced to expel out through the liquidoutlet tube 104 and the liquid supply channel 24 into the basin 50. Inthis connection, it is noted that the drain port 52 of the basin 50 isdimensioned such that the flow rate of the liquid dripping into the drippan 60 is smaller than that of the liquid being supplied from the tank100, thereby increasing the amount of the liquid in the basin 50. Afterthe basin 50 is filled with the liquid, an extra amount of the liquid iscaused to overflow into the drip pan 60, maintaining the liquid in thebasin 50 at a constant level. In this connection, the air iscontinuously drawn into the tank with the superfluous liquid to keepsupplying the liquid into the basin 50, i.e., circulating the liquidbetween the tank 100 and the basin 50 for cleaning the shaver head 12.The supply mode continues over a predetermined time period during whichthe shaver head is activated intermittently or continuously to shake thecontaminants off, enhancing the cleaning effect.

The supply mode is automatically followed by the recovery mode in whichthe pump 70 is activated with the air valve 80 kept opened to collectthe liquid from the basin 50 through the drip pan 60 into the tank 100.With the air valve 80 being opened, i.e., the tank 100 opened to theatmosphere, the air drawn by the pump 70 is exhausted through the airvalve 80 so as to recover the liquid and collect only the liquid in thetank 100. The recovery mode continues over a predetermined time periodto collect the whole liquid into the tank. Near the end of the period,the shaver head is controlled to be activated for shaking the liquidoff. Thereafter, the fan 200 is activated to dry the shaver head with orwithout the shaver head being actuated. Thus, the supply mode and therecovery mode are accomplished with the use of a single pump and the airvalve.

As schematically shown in FIG. 3, the tank 100 is L-shaped to have awide header section 114 and a vertically elongated section 116overlapping the rear face of the stand 40. The tank 100 is mounted onthe housing 20 with the horizontal section 114 resting on a mountingface 41 on top of the stand 40. The fluid inlet tube 102, the liquidoutlet tube 104, and the air exhaust tube 106 are integrally formed withthe tank 100 to project on the bottom of the header section 114 fordetachably connection with the fluid intake channel 22, the liquidsupply channel 24, and the air exhaust channel 26, respectively. Forthis purpose, the ends of the channels 22, 24, and 26 are integratedinto a combination socket 28 formed in the mounting face 41, as shown inFIG. 10. Thus, the tank 100 can be attached to the housing 20 from theabove.

The device further includes a filter detector 98 which issues a stopsignal when the drip pan 60 is not in position below the basin 50. Inresponse to the stop signal, the controller 92 deactivates the pump 70and the associated parts to cease the above operation. A display 96 isincluded in the device to give information about which one of the supplymode and the recovery mode is proceeding, and the elapsed time. Further,a signal transmitting terminal 91 is provided on the side of the housing20 for transmitting an electric signal that is received in a shavercontroller 14 to activate the shaver head 12 or a charging circuit 16for charging a battery 15. As best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the terminal91 includes a set of contacts 93 exposed on the front wall of the stand40 for contact with a corresponding set of pads 13 formed on theexterior of the shaver 10. The pads defines a signal receiving terminal11 represented in FIG. 5 through which the signal is transmitted to theshaver controller 14. The contacts 93, i.e., the terminal 91 is locatedintermediate the height of the stand 40 for intimate contact with thepads 13 or the receiving terminal 11 when the shaver 10 is held upsidedown to place the shaver head 12 into the basin 50. Alternatively, thesignal transmitting terminal 91 may be in the form of a primary windingfor transformer coupling with a secondary winding placed within theshaver as the signal receiving terminal 11. In this modification, bothof the windings can be concealed within the housing and shaver,respectively.

As shown in FIG. 6, the stand 40 carries a holding means, i.e., amechanism of holding the shaver 10 in position. The mechanism includes apair of clasps 42 which are spaced widthwise with respect to the heightdimension of the housing 20 and are pivotally supported to the stand 40to be movable between a holding position of bracing the shaver 10 and areleasing position permitting the removable of the shaver. The clasps 42are biased by coil springs 43 to the holding position in which theclasps 42 engage the opposite sides of the shaver 10. Each of the clasps42 is formed at its upper and lower end respectively with inclinedguides 44 for sliding contact with tapered head sides 18 as well as toptapered sides 19 adjacent to the shaver head 12, as shown in FIG. 4.Thus, the clasps 42 can be forced to open temporarily in the releaseposition when the shaver is moved vertically to place the shaver head 12into the basin 50, allowing the easy attachment of the shaver, afterwhich the clasps close by the action of the springs into the holdingposition. Also, when the shaver is moved vertically to pull the shaverhead 12 out of the basin 50, the clasps 42 are forced to open by contactwith the top tapered sides 19 of the shaver, permitting the easydetachment of the shaver from the device. In the holding position, theclasps 42 urges the shaver 10 towards the stand 40 in order to keep thepads 13 of the receiving terminal 11 pressed against the correspondingcontacts 93 for reliable signal transmission therebetween.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the stand 40 has a front face which isconfigured to guide the apparatus 10 to a holding position where theshaver head 12 is received within the basin 50. For this purpose, thefront face has is a guide face 46 which is inclined with respect to avertical or height axis of the housing 20 and which is formed at itslower end with a stopper 48 for abutting against a shoulder of theapparatus or shaver 10. The stopper 48 is positioned so that theapparatus 10 is caused to lean upon the front face of the stand by itsown weight, thereby urging the pads 13 of the receiving terminal 11against the contacts 93 of the transmitting terminal 91 for reliableelectrical contact therebetween. In this sense, the electricalconnection can be made successfully even without relying upon thesprings 43 of the clasps 42.

The drip pan 60 is made detachable to the housing 20 for easy cleaningof the filter 63 as well as the pan 60 itself. As shown in FIGS. 7, 8,and 14, the drip pan 60 is provided in the form of a drawer having afront handle 64 and the top opening which comes into fluid communicationwith the drain port 52 of the basin 50, the air vent 36, and theoverflow duct 34 for receiving the liquid and/or the air therethrough. Arecess 32 is formed at the front end of the base 30 immediately belowthe basin 50 to accommodate the drip pan 60. The inner bottom of the pan60 is inclined downwardly towards the connection port 65 for smoothlyguiding the liquid to the fluid intake channel 22. As shown in FIG. 14,the interior space of the drip pan 60 is divided by the filter 63 into afirst chamber 61 and a second chamber 62. The first chamber 61 is indirect open communication with the drain port 52 and the overflow duct34 for collecting the liquid and/or the air respectively therethrough,thereby depositing the contaminants carried by the liquid on the filter63. The second chamber 62 is in direct open communication with the airvent 36 and with the connection port 65 for feeding the liquid clearedof the contaminants as well as the outside air into the fluid intakechannel 22. For this purpose, the filter 63 is bent into an L-shapedsection, as shown in FIG. 14. With this arrangement, the verticalportion of the filter 63 can be located above the level of the liquid inthe drip pan 60 so as to entrap the contaminants possibly carried by theair drawn through the drain port 52 in the initial stage of the supplymode as well as in the last stage of the recovery mode.

As shown in FIG. 15, the drip pan 60 is formed with an electrode 66which comes into contact with corresponding leads 68 at the bottom ofthe housing 20 when the drip pan 60 is received in the recess 32 of thehousing 20. The electrode 66 and the leads 68 constitute a switch whichopens in response to the drip pan 60 being removed from the positionbelow the basin 50. The switch is electrically connected to the filterdetector 98 which issues an enable signal to the controller 92 only whenthe drip pan is in the correct position, allowing the pump to beactivated only in this condition. The drip pan 60 is designed to have aliquid storing capacity larger than that of the basin 50 in order tocollect the entire volume of the liquid from the basin 50 even if thepump 70 should stop during the supply mode. The filter is preferred tohave a filtering area of 700 mm² or more. Further, instead of providingthe removable drip pan 60, the filter 63 alone may be detachable to thehousing for frequent cleaning purpose. Alternatively, the filter 63 maybe made flat, as shown in FIG. 16, so that the second chamber 62communicates with the air vent 36 through the filter 63. In thismodification, the filter 63 can entrap contaminants carried by the airdrawn also through the air vent 36.

The cleaning device in accordance with the present invention can beequally applied for cleaning the epilating head of a hand-held epilatoror other operator head of similar hair removing apparatus.

1. A cleaning device for a hair removing apparatus, said devicecomprising: a housing having a basin that receives an operator head ofthe hair removing apparatus; a tank storing a volume of a cleaningliquid: a pump supplying the cleaning liquid from said tank to saidbasin for cleaning the operator head of the apparatus; a drip pan beingformed separately from said tank and being disposed underneath saidbasin to collect the liquid dripping from the basin, said drip pan beingconnected to said tank by way of a fluid intake channel for allowing theliquid to return from within said drip pan to said tank under the actionof said pump, said drip pan being open to the bottom of said basin forcollecting hairs or contaminants dislodged from the operator head,wherein said drip pan is provided with a filter for removing the hairand the contaminants from the liquid.
 2. The cleaning device as setforth in claim 1, wherein said drip pan is separated by said filter intoa first chamber which is in direct communication with said basin and asecond chamber having a connection port for direct connection with saidfluid intake channel, said connection port having a flow cross areasmaller than the surface area of said filter.
 3. The cleaning device asset forth in claim 1, wherein said drip pan is separated by said filterinto a first chamber which is in direct communication with said basinand a second chamber in direct communication with said fluid intakechannel, said second chamber communicating with an air vent that isformed in said housing and is open to the atmosphere not through thefilter for introducing an outside air, said tank being in the form of ahermetically sealed container which is selectively open to theatmosphere by way of an air valve, said device including a controllerthat selectively provides a supply mode for supplying the liquid to saidbasin from said tank and a recovery mode for recovering the liquid fromsaid basin to said tank, said supply mode actuating said pump whilekeeping said air valve closed so as to feed the air introduced throughsaid air vent into said tank by way of said fluid intake channel andaccumulate the air pressure within said tank, thereby forcing the liquidout of said tank to said basin, said recovery mode actuating said pumpwhile keeping said air valve opened to feed the liquid out from saidbasin through said fluid intake channel to said tank withoutaccumulating the air pressure within said tank, thereby collecting theliquid into the tank.
 4. The cleaning device as set forth in claim 1,wherein said drip pan is removable received within a recess formed insaid housing below said basin.
 5. The cleaning device as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said drip pan is separated by said filter into a firstchamber which is in direct communication with said basin and a secondchamber having a connection port for direct connection with said fluidintake channel, said filter having an upper area and a lower area, saidupper area being configured to be positioned above a level of the liquiddripped and stored into said drip pan for introducing the air throughsaid upper area into said second chamber, said tank being in the form ofa hermetically sealed container which is selectively open to theatmosphere by way of an air valve, said device including a controllerthat selectively provides a supply mode for supplying the liquid to saidbasin from said tank and a recovery mode for recovering the liquid fromsaid basin to said tank, said supply mode actuating said pump whilekeeping said air valve closed so as to feed the air introduced throughsaid upper area of said filter into said tank by way of said fluidintake channel and accumulate the air pressure within said tank, therebyforcing the liquid out of said tank to said basin, said recovery modeactuating said pump while keeping said air valve opened to feed theliquid out from said basin through said fluid intake channel to saidtank without accumulating the air pressure within said reservoir,thereby collecting the liquid into the tank.
 6. The cleaning device asset forth in claim 1, wherein said drip pan is separated by said filterinto a first chamber which is in direct communication with said basinand a second chamber having a connection port for direct connection withsaid fluid intake channel, said second chamber having an inner bottomwhich is inclined downwardly to said connection port.
 7. The cleaningdevice as set forth in claim 1, wherein said drip pan is configured tohave a liquid storing capacity larger than that of said basin.
 8. Thecleaning device as set forth in claim 4, further including a monitorthat monitors whether or not said drip pan is attached to said housing,said controller deactivating said pump in response to said drip panbeing detached from said housing.
 9. The cleaning device as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said filter is removable from said housing.
 10. Thecleaning device as set forth in claim 9, further including said housingincludes a controller that activates said pump and a monitor thatmonitors whether or not said filter is attached to said housing, saidcontroller deactivating said pump in response to said filter beingdetached from said housing.